Macho Nation? Chicano Soldiering and Masculinity During the Vietnam War Era

TL;DRAbstract

The attempt to claim full citizenship and national belonging during wartime offers an excellent opportunity to explore how gender functioned as the terrain upon which many Chicanos struggled to adjust to life in the military and make sense of the Vietnam War. Furthermore, as a social space imbued with its own masculine ethos, the military is a prime candidate for the study of Chicano masculinity not only because males predominated during the Vietnam War, but also because the military's emphasis on conventional, often aggressive, displays of male sex role behaviors paralleled the popularized character traits often associated with machismo. However, normative and traditional displays of machismo, though present within my analysis, are not the singular focus of this article. Rather, I borrow from the analytical insights of critical men s studies to showcase a range of masculinities amongst Chicano servicemen prior to and during the Vietnam War. It is my contention that the perceived link

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